- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - Hier 08:07

UNHCR Trinidad and Tobago head assures continued commitment to refugees

With about 25,800 migrants and refugees from 35 nationalities registered with the UNHCR National Office in TT, the head of the agency, Amanda Solando Badilla, is emphasising the organisation's continued commitment to supporting refugees, despite the shift in operations. The office will closed to the public on July 25, with operations to be managed remotely from the UNHCR Multi-Country Office in Panama. "After that, we continue to support refugees, and we continue to be committed with the government of TT to provide our support. However, the way in which we support will change," Solando Badilla told Newsday in a phone interview. "We will continue to cover TT from our multi-country office in Panama." After a validation exercise that concluded in May, 12,600 inactive records were closed, bringing the total active and affected population to 25,800. The closed records represented people who were no longer in the country or who have not had any contact with the office in the last six months. The majority of the migrant/refugee population – about 21,000 – are Venezuelans, along with nationals from Cuba, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, Bangladesh and other countries. On June 5, the UN Refugee Agency announced that due to financial constraints, its office in Port of Spain will be closed on August 31. Solando Badilla is a seasoned humanitarian with more than 15 years of experience. [caption id="attachment_1163688" align="alignnone" width="1020"] Despite the UNHCR physical office closure in TT, two outpost positions will remain to maintain support for local partners: La Casita Hispanic Cultural Center in Arima and the Caribbean Centre for Human Rights in Chaguanas. - GREVIC ALVARADO[/caption] She arrived in TT four years ago and first held the role of protection officer. In May 2024, she assumed her current role as head of the agency in TT after the departure of her predecessor, Miriam Aertker. Solando Badilla's career began in her home country of Costa Rica. She has since worked with several other countries, including a regional office based in Panama that at the time covered seven countries in Central America, Cuba and Mexico. Reflecting on World Refugee Day, celebrated annually on June 20, she said: "It helps us to honour the strength and the courage of refugees and our solidarity with them." "It also helps us to shine a light on the rights, needs and dreams of refugees. It helps to mobilise political will and resources so refugees can truly thrive. We have always created opportunities to support refugees in TT." She recalled that in the past, the agency had partnered with diplomats, businesses, civil society groups, and refugees to organise events like football matches and entrepreneurship fairs. These gave refugees a chance to showcase their talents and products. Cultural activities were also held to raise awareness about refugees' situations. Despite the physical office closure, two outpost positions will remain in the country to maintain support for local partners: La Casita Hispanic Cultural Center in Arima and the Caribbean Centre for Human Rights (CCHR) in Chaguanas. [caption id="attachment_1163689" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The majority of the migrant/refugee population in TT are Venezuelans. - Grevic Alvarado[/caption] She explained that La Casita helps victims of gender-based violence and people in vulnerable situations. They also offer a daycare and provide activities to support early development in children. CCHR, she added, provides free legal services to all refugees in the country. "We also support the Children's Authority. We actually support with a case worker and with an interpreter English/Spanish to facilitate the case management of children in the country who do not speak English," Solando Badilla said. "Through these organisations and our multi-country office in Panama, we also stand ready to support the national government with efforts to develop a national asylum framework. That is something that the country is yet to develop," she said. Solando Badilla highlighted several milestones over the past years. She recalled a successful vocational training initiative conducted in collaboration with the Pan American Development Foundation and the local and migrant communities in Chaguanas. Some of the skills training included air conditioning repair, solar panel installation and food handling. "It was incredible to see how everybody integrated. The skills training sessions were conducted in both Spanish and English. It also helped refugees to practice their English skills and Trinidadians to practice their Spanish skills," she chuckled as she recalled. Another significant achievement was the inclusion of the first cohort of refugee/migrant children in national schools. "The numbers are still low. We would like to continue supporting the national government so more children can be included," she said. "However, this was an important achievement for these children. It was the first time that they were able to access education in the country." She was referring to the students under 18, whose parents registered in the historic 2019 Migrant Registration Framework (MRF) and continue to register yearly. As previously reported in Newsday, many Venezuelans have expressed sadness and uncertainty regarding the office's closure. Asked about the possibility of the office reopening in TT, she replied: It is hard to say at this time, but we are always committed to supporting it in any way that we can." About UNHCR The UNHCR website (www.unhcr.org) states that for 74 years, the organisation has protected the rights of refugees worldwide. The global organisation prides itself on helping people who are forced to flee their homes due to conflict or persecution. It works to save lives, defend their rights, and help them build better futures. The UNHCR was established by the UN General Assembly in 1950, following World War II, to support the millions who had lost their homes. Today, UNHCR works in over 130 countries. For further info e-mail UNHCR at ttopo@unhcr.org   The post UNHCR Trinidad and Tobago head assures continued commitment to refugees appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.